Cold-Weather Investing: Coal, Natural-Gas and Heating-Oil Investments Will Pack a Punch in January

The irony about cold-weather investing is that the biggest profits come to those who position their money during the hottest months of the year - even during the record heatwave Americans have been experiencing this year. In short, now's the time to start thinking about such winter-related topics as heating bills, and such cold-weather investments as natural gas, heating oil and coal. According to the American Petroleum Institute (API), natural gas provides heat for 55% of homes in the United States, followed by electricity, which warms 39%. Heating oil, propane and coal play only minor direct roles, although coal is used to fire 49% of America's electric generating plants, with another 20% fueled by natural gas. That means natural gas is the natural choice of investors looking for winter-related profits - although Dr. Kent Moors , editor of Oil & Energy Investor newsletter and a frequent contributor to Money Morning , cautions that factors other than routine home-heating demand play a major role in setting prices.